VATICAN (SE): There may be a common perception that the talks between Beijing and the Holy See are all about the appointment of bishops in China, but an announcement at the Vatican of a joint exhibition of Chinese historical treasures to be held simultaneously in Rome and the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in the Forbidden City in Beijing, reveals other topics are under discussion as well.

VATICAN (SE): The hairline crack in the Vatican glass ceiling crept a bit when Pope Francis appointed two women as undersecretaries in the new dicastery for Laity, Family and Life on November 7.

Gabriella Gambino, a professor from the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute, will be the undersecretary for the section on life and Linda Ghisoni, who is now a judge on the marriage tribunal for the Rome archdiocese, will be undersecretary for the section on the laity.

VATICAN (SE): The Vatican is putting its stamp on the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, or at least putting the two historical events with significant anniversaries being marked this year on a stamp.

The Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Bureau is releasing two postage stamps on November 23, one for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the other for the 450th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis de Sales (1567 to 1622).

VATICAN (CNS): Several young people attending a Vatican-sponsored seminar on the upcoming Synod of Bishops urged the Vatican and the bishops themselves to be opening to listening to young people talk and ask questions about love, sex and sexuality.

Twenty people under the age of 35, along with 70 theologians, priests and academics met from September 11 to 15 as part of the preparatory process for the 2018 Synod of Bishops on “young people, faith and vocational discernment.”

VATICAN (CNS): Some 2,000 people completed the first ever multi-religious half-marathon (21 kilometres) in Rome, Italy on September 17. The Via Pacis (Peace Road) initiative was sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture.

According to Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca y Alameda, undersecretary of pontifical council and head of the office’s section on sport, almost 4,000 people also signed up for the shorter, five kilometer fun run.

ROME (SE): Hot on the heels of an article appearing in the Vatican magazine, Civilta Cattolica, attacking right wing Catholics in the United States of America (US) for what it called running an ecumenism of hate in cooperation with fundamentalist evangelical groups, a second article has appeared in a different Vatican publication, L’Osservatore Romano, claiming the main obstacle to the reforms Pope Francis wants to see in the Church is the clergy.

HONG KONG (SE): After several reports appeared recently pointing to hiccups in the current round of talks taking place between the Holy See and Beijing, the Vatican secretary of state, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, admitted in his diplomatic way that things are rocky, saying that new challenges had been presented.

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Hong Kong of Cardinal John Tong Hon. He is to be succeeded by Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung...
(Vatican announcement August 1 at 6.00pm Hong Kong time)

VATICAN (SE): The superiors of the four main branches of the Franciscan friars formally asked Pope Francis for permission to allow their communities to elect brothers to positions of leadership in their communities.

“With us Pope Francis is looking at the possibilities for moving this project forward,” Father Michael Perry, the minister general of the Friars Minor, told Vatican Radio on April 10.

VATICAN (SE): It was announced on May 4 that the Vatican is tying the diplomatic knot with Naypyidaw at the same time that Pope Francis was meeting with the first counsellor of the Union of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, at the Sala Regia in the apostolic palace.